Prince Allen is sent to the capital to be the High King Sarrica’s consort only to find himself cruelly rejected and mocked. Scared to return home and face the derision of his parents for his failure, he joins a band of mercenaries as their translator. When Allen and the mercenaries are captured, Sarrica is forced to re-evaluate Allen and his talents.

The High King’s Golden Tongue is a wonderful, charming fantasy m/m story. Megan Derr has created a rich and believable world in this short story, with characters that are deep and multi-faceted. Serrica at first seems cruel, but when the layers of his reasoning are pulled back we see a different man, one who is kind but reluctant to let go of the past. Allen is young and seems naive, but has been through more than we initially realize, and his talent with languages is invaluable to the kingdom. The two characters complement each other perfectly and there is real chemistry between them. I was sad that it ended so soon, as I easily could have read another two hundred pages about what they went on to achieve together.

I absolutely recommend The High King’s Golden Tongue to anybody looking for a quality, free m/m read. I look forward to reading some of Megan Derr’s other works in the future.

I’ve planned my story out a little differently to how I originally envisioned it, but finally things are making sense in my head. I’m estimating 10-15k should finish the story. Which will bring it to 35-40k.

I don’t believe in padding, and I won’t pad a story to meet an arbitrary deadline. NaNoWriMo serves its purpose by getting people to write and in the end, a finished novella is far more useful than an unfinished novel. I’ll actually be glad to finish this story over Thanksgiving so I can edit it, hand it over for the challenge it’s for and get back to some Serious Work.

I have two potential new titles for the Hearts On Fire novel, as that name is too generic in my opinion and I’m not happy with it. One title is Rainy Days, since rain plays a large part in the story. The other is Drive You Home, since getting a ride is how the affair begins. If you have opinions, please, let me know. I want this novel finished and out the door by the end of the year. I never thought I’d be sick of looking at one of my works but the line-by-line edit of this book is a muse-killer.

After that I get to clean up Written In The Snow and commission cover art. I’m hoping that novel won’t be so much of a pain to edit. The sci-fi comes so much easier to me than the contemporary. I know that’s not what a lot of readers want to hear but the muse is boss here, sorry.

One day I’d love to get a publisher so I can hand off some of these tasks and get better feedback, but I’ve heard some very scary stories in the last week or so that have made me swear to do some real research before ever signing anything with anyone, ever. Some days I’m reminded that I’m a real newbie in the writing/publishing world and I need to tread very carefully.

Mercenary Beirn has sold his brother’s testicles to HardCell, an organ harvesting company. The only problem is, he’s got to get them first. He thinks it’ll be an easy job, but things are about to get complicated in ways he never even envisioned…

You might have guessed from the description that Seedy Business is not your typical M/M romance. You’d be right. Seedy Business holds nothing back in describing the grim world its characters inhabit; one of organ and semen harvesting for a thriving black market filled with criminal characters who lack scruples and consciences.

Beirn and Zed at first appear to be two such beings; unpleasant people doing unpleasant things in an unpleasant universe. Beirn, after all, has not only signed away his twin brother’s crown jewels but also trapped him in a semen harvesting farm where he’s being milked against his will and pumped full of chemicals. So it’s unsurprising to find that brother Ox knows what he’s done and wants revenge. It’s the nature of said revenge where Seedy Business really comes alive. Watching Beirn squirm as he desires Zed against his own homophobic nature is nothing short of delicious.

Seedy Business isn’t going to be everybody’s cup of tea, however. Its unrestrained, no-holds-barred style, dark humor, unorthodox sex scene and the pure strangeness of its world will be a major turn-off for some people. Beirn and Zed are hard people to love and the story doesn’t take a romantic turn until the end, by which time you’ll either have decided it’s the best thing ever or the biggest gross-out you’ve ever tried to read. It is, however, completely unique. The tropes of conventional romances are left at the door and we are left to enjoy a strange, exotic, alien setting which is described in vivid detail and characters which, while on the outside seem cruel and heartless, inside have needs and desires which need to be fulfilled. Seedy Business is a must-read for lovers of the exotic, erotic and the adventurous; those looking for more sweet, typical, romantic fare might want to look elsewhere.

The Ivory Prison is a free story written for the Love Is Always Write event on the Goodreads M/M Romance group.

The Ivory Prison is about Gabriel, a young man who has been held in a research facility for his entire life. He’s not even allowed to communicate with others, and other boys at the facility often vanish without trace. Things change, however, when the lab gets a new researcher in charge, who brings along her son, Lukas. Lukas and Gabriel start to form a connection that not only changes their lives, but also helps Gabriel realize his true purpose.

I really enjoyed The Ivory Prison. I’ve always been fascinated by the sort of “lab rat” stories; people who’ve been isolated and kept apart their whole lives who suddenly find themselves dealing with people and human relationships for the first time. There are some very tender and emotional scenes that really tug on the heartstrings as Gabriel struggles to become what his masters want him to be, and Lukas desperately tries to help him so he won’t be left alone.

The Ivory Prison isn’t a story about sex or desire; the protagonists are under eighteen and even kisses are only hinted at, which I have no problem with. A story can be intimate and beautiful without sex and The Ivory Prison certainly achieves this. It’s a story that’s provocative in the emotional sense; the fact that these two young men are truly alone in the world without each other really gives a sense of danger and urgency when the boys are facing a life and death situation.

My only complaint about this book is that there were a couple of misplaced apostrophes towards the end, but this is a problem that could be easily rectified in a later update. Don’t let this very minor issue stop you from enjoying a fantastic, moving read.

Between You And Me is a free story written for the Love Is Always Write event on the Goodreads M/M Romance group. It’s about two twins, Cam and Jace, who grow closer than brothers and have to face up to it. There’s incest, of course, so it’s not going to be for everybody, but it’s a fairly short read that deals with the difficulties of overcoming such a taboo well.

I liked that there was awkwardness between Jace and Cam and even some anger. Getting past the incest taboo can’t be as easy as some fiction writers make it seem, especially if the couple grew up together. I thought Between You And Me was a good start to a story and that it handled its subject matter well and without fetishizing it.

I don’t usually complain that a story should be longer, especially when it’s a freebie, but I would have liked to have seen more, especially since they will have to face many problems in the road ahead if they want to stay together. I did think the ending lines were a perfect way to end it, though. It’s a nice little story that provided a good hour’s entertainment. Nothing too deep or mind-blowing, but definitely a worthwhile read nonetheless.

My only real nitpick is that the video game mentioned in the story is called Mario Kart, not Mario Cart. Most people won’t notice or care, but little details like that can throw a reader out of the story if they are actually knowledgable about such things. It wasn’t a deal-breaker for me and it didn’t influence the star rating, but as a gamer myself, I do like those details to be correct if they are mentioned.

While I really want to get 50k in November, I feel like it may not happen. I have just over 12k, and we’re almost half way through November. While I can get 3k on a good writing day, obligations are eating up more and more of that time. Furniture deliveries. House repairs. Trying to sleep for my night job.

However, what’s most important to me is to get a finished story. And that the writing I’m doing feels right, which it does. I feel that The Heart Of The Sun is going to be good, and that, to me, is what matters. Even if I have to work into December to get a finished novel.

The reason I chose to participate in NaNo this year was because I’ve been having trouble getting around to writing, and I wanted something to give me a kick up the butt to get back to work on actual writing, as opposed to editing and other stuff. That, at least, has worked.

Don’t think I’m giving up, either! I have four days off later this month and I have cleared out all obligations. I intend to work my butt off. Most I’ve ever written in a day is 11k. Can I beat that? Let’s see!

Regardless of victory or failure, I’m happy to be working on a project that’s “just for fun”. After that, it’ll be back to the grind of editing hell!

It’s Day One of NaNoWriMo, and I’m changing my novel idea already! I want to write something brighter and more hopeful. The Game is still floating around in my head, but it goes to dark places that I cannot follow right now.

I also owe a nice little group on Goodreads a challenge story. So I figured why not do that, and make everyone happy.

I love historical fiction, especially fiction set around the Second World War. The War At The End Of The World is certainly an interesting concept, mixing historical with supernatural and it’s very well-written and researched. It was certainly an enjoyable read, even though supernatural stories are not usually my taste. I especially liked some of the vivid descriptions that really gave me a sense of time and place.

My complaints with the story center around the jumping between years. I would have rearranged the story to begin with Joseph’s childhood scene so the reader could get a better sense of the supernatural character, who he was and why he was so attached to Joseph by the time he saves his life the second time. I also would have liked to have known more about this character in general, how/why he existed and how it was possible for him to be reborn in the future (their connection, I guess?)

Still, I recommend The War At The End Of The World, especially as it is a free story as part of the Love Is Always Write event. It is a good introduction to what these two authors can do and I look forward to reading more of their stories in the future.

I apologize for my recent absence from writing. I moved somewhat abruptly and had no access to the Internet or my computer for a while. The dust is still settling, but I hope to get back to work ASAP on Hearts On Fire and I still hope to participate in this year’s NaNoWriMo event. I’m hoping to get Hearts On Fire out by Xmas, and I apologize again for the repeated delays. Nobody is more disappointed than I am about the lack of writing on my schedule.